Is this the greatest Wembley refereeing blunder since 1966? FA Cup controversy as official helps Chelsea beat Spurs with goal that never was

Tottenham Hotspur fans were left devastated last night after the referee incorrectly awarded Chelsea a 'ghost goal' during the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

The controversial decision by ref Martin Atkinson saw Chelsea demolish Spurs 5-1 to go through to the final against Liverpool next month.

The goal, scored by Juan Mata in the 49th minute, had echoes of the 1966 World Cup when referee Gottfried Dienst and linesman Tofik Bakhramov deemed Geoff Hurst's third goal a winner.

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Curse of Wembley: Referee Martin Atkinson allowed the goal, scored by Juan Mata in the 49th minute, which saw Chelsea demolish Spurs 5-1 to go through to the final against Liverpool next month

Controversial: Chelsea's goal had echoes of the 1966 World Cup when referee Gottfried Dienst and linesman Tofik Bakhramov deemed Geoff Hurst's third goal a winner despite it being 6cm away from the line

In extra time, with the score at 2-2
between England and West Germany, Hurst had received the ball from Alan
Ball, turned and struck towards the German goal.

The ball smashed into the crossbar, hit the ground and bounced back into play where it was quickly cleared by the German defence.

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England's players claimed the ball had gone over the line and after a consultation with Bakhramov, Dienst awarded the goal to England.

Scramble: Benoit Assou-Ekotto (front right) blocked the ball despite being flat out in the goal-mouth

Nowhere near: Assou-Ekotto clearly stops the ball from crossing the goal-line with his outstretched boot

Not even close: An ITV graphic shows the position of the ball when it struck Assou-Ekotto's foot

TOP FIVE 'GHOST' GOALS

Luis Garcia: Liverpool v Chelsea, 2005In a Champions League semi-final, Liverpool's Luis Garcia sent his side through when his hooked effort was awarded by referee Lubos Michel, despite Chelsea defender William Gallas claiming he had cleared it from under the bar. Liverpool progressed to win the final, while Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: 'It was a goal from the moon'.

Frank Lampard: England v Germany, 2010With England reeling from an early German barrage, they thought they were back in the game when Frank Lampard took aim from 20 yards and appeared to score when the ball bounced down off the bar. The officials disagreed and, although replays showed Lampard had scored, Germany went on to win 4-1.

Frank Lampard: Chelsea v Tottenham, 2011Chelsea midfielder Lampard was involved again, this time profiting from a decision. His edge-of-the-box strike was fumbled by Heurelho Gomes and, although the keeper scrambled back to halt the ball on the line, a goal was given.

John Eustace: Watford v Reading, 2008An innocuous Reading corner hit Watford midfielder John Eustace and flew wide of the goal. Play broke down and the players returned to their positions, only for referee Stuart Atwell to wrongly believe the ball had hit Eustace and gone in.

Clint Hill: Bolton v QPR, 2012Clint Hill thought he had given QPR the lead when he headed a Joey Barton cross in. Goalkeeper Adam Bogdan scrambled behind his line to save and, although replays showed Hill had scored, linesman Bob Pollock assured referee Martin Atkinson he had not. Bolton won.

They went on to win 4-2 but the Germans
have never quite forgotten - or let England forget - what they now call
the 'Wembley Tor' or 'Wembley Goal'.

Years later, a study by the Engineering Department at Oxford University found Hurst's ball was actually a whopping 6cm away from being a goal.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp accused referee Atkinson of guessing after the blunder at Wembley on Sunday.

The
Tottenham boss said Atkinson had apologised to him but labelled
the referee’s decision a ‘disaster’.

Redknapp said: ‘Did he guess? He must have. He can’t have been sure.

'He’s just made a mistake, unfortunately.

‘I spoke to him. He says he feels worse than I do. I said: “I don’t think so”.

'But he says he feels bad.

‘He knows he’s made a mistake and he says he’ll have a bad week as well.

'There’s nothing we can do now.

'The
second goal was a disaster, nowhere near a goal. An honest mistake, but
nowhere near over the line. I don’t see how he can give it.’

Spurs
captain Ledley King added: ‘I find it hard to believe that he could
have seen it from where he was.

'You expect the linesman to make the
decision and at 2-0 down it’s going to be a tough game against Chelsea.

‘We were remonstrating with the
referee, telling him it didn’t cross the line but he makes the decision
and it’s a massive decision.’

Chelsea
captain John Terry and Roberto Di Matteo both admitted they did not
think the ball had crossed the line and the Chelsea boss joined Redknapp
in calling for goal-line technology to be introduced.

Furious: Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, left, looks more than perplexed at Atkinson's decision while Spurs' players tell him exactly how they feel during the match at Wembley on Sunday, right

Stroke of luck: Lampard (right) celebrates Chelsea's third goal

Now watch the 'ghost' goal during Tottenham v Chelsea in FA Cup semi-final at Wembley

VIDEO: Frank Lampard, Scott Parker and William Gallas have their say...